Barely Breathing
by DawnOfTheNight
Summary: Tony's best friend Jessica accompanies him to Afghanistan. How will things turn out for the duo and will their longtime friendship turn into something more? Tony/OC Edit: 22.08.14 - This story is not abandoned. College is eating me alive. You will get an update soon.
1. Come With Me

**So I'd never planned on doing an Iron Man story… Not once had I planned this… But one night after a Marvel movie marathon, I couldn't hold it in. So…this story will go along with the first movie and it is a Tony Stark/OC story... So, fair warning that a lot of the Pepperony flirting is taken out and replaced. I hope you all enjoy.**

**Typical Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and all those people at Marvel own the rights to Tony and the gang. I just own my OC.**

**Chapter One: Come With Me**

Silence. Other than the music from the boom box sitting in the front seat, the hum of the vehicles as they made their way down the road, and the rattle of the ice in my best friend's glass, there was only silence. There were five of us in the vehicle. Three soldiers, two men and a woman, myself, and the great Tony Stark…and no one was talking. The soldier in the back with us was glancing at Tony nervously, but no one was saying a word. Poor kid, I knew he was intimidated. I would've been too if I didn't know everything about Tony and hadn't known him since we could both talk. Honestly, the soldier's nervous glances were making it hard not to laugh.

Tony decided to break the silence in his typical, sarcastic way. "I feel like you're driving us to court martial. This is crazy. What'd we do? I feel like you're gonna pull over and snuff us. What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey, Forrest!"

Forrest, the young soldier in the back with us, looked shocked that Tony had even spoken to him. "We can talk, sir."

Tony turned towards me. "Oh, I see. So it's personal."

The woman soldier driving our vehicle spoke up. "You intimidate them."

A shocked look spread across Tony's face. "Good God, you're a woman! I honestly, I couldn't have called that. I mean, I would apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first."

Without missing a beat, she replied, "I'm an airman."

Tony smirked. "Well, you have actually excellent bone structure there. I'm kinda having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird?" The soldiers laughed. "Come on! It's okay. Laugh!" Tony had successfully diffused the awkward silence.

The soldier in the passenger seat looked back at Tony. "Sir, I have a question to ask." Tony allowed it. "Is it true you went twelve-for-twelve with last year's Maxim cover models?" He asked eagerly.

"That is an excellent question, but no. Unfortunately, March and I had a scheduling conflict."

I scoffed. "Yeah, but don't forget, the Christmas cover was twins." I knew he'd come up with it on his own if I didn't. I'd unfortunately walked in on the act.

Tony smirked at me. "They _were_ twins. Sorry about that, Jess." He turned back to the soldier in the passenger seat. "So…yes and no."

Forrest raised his hand slightly, like a kid in school. I couldn't contain my laugh this time. Tony found it just as amusing. "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"

The soldier quickly lowered his hand. "Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" He asked, seemingly afraid of offending Tony.

Tony stared for a few seconds. "Yes. It's very cool."

Forrest smiled and dug his camera out of his pocket. He quickly handed it to the soldier in the passenger seat. I scooted toward the door as Tony leaned toward the soldier. The soldier threw up the classic peace sign. I had to fight back another laugh.

Tony had his classic poker face on. "I don't wanna see this on your MySpace page." He paused. "Please no gang signs." Forrest quickly put his hand down again. "No, throw it up. I'm kidding." Forrest complied. "Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace."

As the soldiers started arguing about how to work the camera, the vehicle in front of us suddenly exploded. I screamed, turning away from the sight of the flames. There was so much commotion. Our vehicle stopped. I could hear the soldiers yelling to one another, not really comprehending what they were saying. Tony had put his arm around me at some point. Though he was being protective, I found little shelter in the gesture. Our driver got out, yelling things to the other two soldiers but she was almost immediately shot down. The soldier in the passenger seat was preparing to get out.

He yelled back at us to stay down, which we immediately did, and turning to the young soldier in the back. "Jimmy, stay with Willows and Stark!" Immediately, he got out to start shooting. He got some rounds off but met the same fate as the soldier driving us.

Forrest seemed to be preparing to exit the vehicle as well. Tony yelled for him to leave us a gun, but Forrest got out and told us to stay where we were. Something exploded and took Forrest out, leaving tiny holes in the side of our vehicle. My ears were ringing. I could feel Tony pushing me to get out, but I didn't want to leave the vehicle. What good would that do? But his strength prevailed and he was able to open the door and push us out. The explosions seemed louder and more frequent. I was too scared to move. I felt Tony grab my hand and drag me along behind him. My heels dug into the sand and rock. Explosions were on our left and right. There was no escaping it. Tony suddenly pulled me forward and shoved me behind a rock, diving beside me a second later. He instantly took out his phone, most likely trying to contact Rhodey. Suddenly, a small, missile-like device landed next to us—a missile-like device that read 'Stark Industries' on the side. What was it doing here? I was being pulled to my feet and shoved violently away seconds before it exploded. It took me a moment to gather myself. I looked over at Tony, who was moving. I pulled myself off the ground slightly and crawled over to Tony, who was ripping open his shirt. When I got to him, all I could see was the red, sticky substance coating his chest. My head was pounding and I couldn't think straight. The last thing I saw was Tony closing his eyes before I followed him into the darkness.

Sometime later, I found myself tied to a chair in some tent. I have no idea where I am. I looked around to try to get a feel of my surroundings. Wherever I am is poorly and my head is still pounding. I looked up to see a man with a gun standing over me. He looked down, saw I was awake, and yelled something in his language. I was picked up from the chair I was seated in and a bag was placed over my head. I'm trying not to panic, but I have no idea what's happening or if I'm even okay. I'm pushed, shoved, and occasionally grabbed at, still not being able to see anything. Finally, I'm shoved into a chair and the bag is removed. I give my eyes time to adjust so I can see my new surroundings. I'm seated next to a camera. _A camera?_ I looked around more, before my eyes land on another hooded figure—the figure the camera was pointing at. There were many people standing around this person. His chest had a massive amount of bandages and then I remember I had come here with someone. _Tony!_ The hooded figure had to be Tony. My heart started racing as I wondered if he was okay. The man standing to his left began reading off of a sheet of paper. As he read, they pulled off the hood and I could see Tony's face. His eyes were adjusting to the light as well. As soon as his vision had adjusted, I saw his eyes land on me. I couldn't help but smile at seeing that he was okay. Our meeting didn't get to last long. As soon as they were done recording what I'm guessing was a ransom video, the bags were replaced and we were taken away again.

**26 HOURS EARLIER**

I knew JARVIS was about to wake me up. I was in that state where I was basically awake, but in denial about it. I sighed as I counted down in my head. _Five…four…_ I wasn't ready to get up. _Three…two…_

The voice of the artificial intelligence Tony had created came to life in my room. "Good morning, Miss Willows. Its 7am and the weather in Malibu is-"

I cut him off. "JARVIS, why do you always insist on trying to give me the weather report when I cut you off every morning?" I had yet to open my eyes.

"Force of habit, Miss Willows. Would you like me to undim the windows or would you like to do it manually this morning?"

I groaned. "I'll do it. Lord knows if I ask you to, I'll just put my head under my pillows and go back to sleep and I'll never get out of bed."

I threw my large comforter off and swung my legs off the bed. My feet didn't touch the floor. I rubbed my face before sliding off the bed. I padded over to the controls and slowly let the light from outside into my room. As I walked to the door, I passed my mirror and gave myself a one over. My hair was up in the bun I'd put it in last night. I was wearing a yellow, grey, and white plaid, button down shirt that wasn't buttoned up all the way, exposing my bra. The shirt came low enough to cover my underwear—the perfect thing to wear while working in the garage. It's not unlike something I'd normally wear while working. Thankfully Tony didn't mind.

Figuring Tony was still asleep after his trip in Las Vegas, I made my way out my door and down the hall. Unfortunately, I opened the door without thinking.

"Tony, do you wanna go get some-" I cut myself off when I realized there was a naked woman wrapped in a sheet standing by Tony's window. I closed the door slightly, not looking at her. "I…sorry…" I stammered, slammed the door and walked very quickly to the stairs leading to the garage.

Sure enough, when the glass came into view, Tony was working on one of his cars. I entered my personal code quickly and opened the door. "Anthony Edward Stark," I yelled over the music, slightly harsher than I meant to. It's not that I was mad; I was just irritated that this kept happening. I knew we'd end up joking about this later.

His head shot up. "JARVIS, turn the music down." The music went down to a low level. "What did I do to deserve getting middle named?" He asked as he pulled his toolbox over to him.

My hands automatically went to my hips. "This is the umpteenth time I've walked in on a girl in your room. Thankfully, you weren't with this one when I walked in."

Tony snorted, keeping his eyes on the car. "You'd think you'd learn to knock."

I rolled my eyes at that one. "You'd think you'd learn to give me a heads up. Like a note on my door that says, 'There's a whore in my room.' This is my house, too, Tony. Notice how you've never caught me with a guy."

Tony pointed his socket wrench at me. "That's because you've never brought a guy home."

I got an evil glint in my eye. "That's because I don't bring my work home with me."

Tony put his hand over his heart, feigning hurt. "Ouch. You've crushed my spirit with that one." He got back to the car. "You wanna help me with this?"

I sighed as I padded over to the car he was working on, squatting down when I reached it. Tony ordered JARVIS to resume the music as he pushed the toolbox over to me. He knew I could work just fine with the music. We worked like we normally did. I knew exactly what tools to hand him when he was working on certain parts. He waved me around to the side of the car he was on as he pulled a piece off. "Give me an exploded view." JARVIS said something about the compression in cylinder three, but I had glanced behind me and saw Pepper descending the stairs behind the glass wall. She didn't look very happy.

"You're in trouble…" I said to Tony, teasing him.

She entered her code just as quickly as I had and turned the music off in the process. With her phone pressed to her ear, she ignored Tony's protests at turning the music off. "I'll keep you posted," she said to the person on the phone, then hanging up quickly. "You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now."

Tony didn't bother looking up from the car. "How'd she take it?" My guess inquiring about the girl he'd slept with last night, and then left for Pepper to deal with.

"Like a champ," she replied, obviously tired.

Examining a part of the car, Tony asked, "Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" He probably didn't even realize it was Pepper's birthday. He can't even remember his own. I'd already taken care of getting her gift for him.

Pepper sighed. "Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago."

Tony handed the part he was examining over to me. "It's funny. I thought with it being my plane and all it would just wait for me," he replied, still looking at the car.

She ignored his comment. "Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple of things before I get you out of here."

He continued on with his train of thought. "I mean, doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?" He asked, looking at me for confirmation. When I just raised my eyebrow, telling him it was his argument, he turned around and sat on the tire.

She continued to ignore his comments about the plane. "Larry called; he's got another buyer for the Jackson-Pollock in the wings. Do you want it, yes or no?"

Tony asked her something about the spring period, which doesn't even exist. Thankfully, Pepper explained to him that there was no spring period and that it was overpriced, but Tony didn't care. The man is a millionaire. They began walking away from the car, so I decided I'd put the tools away.

"The MIT Commencement-"

"Is in June…please don't harang me about that."

"Well they're haranging me so…"

Poor Pepper, she's such a sweet girl and has to take care of all of Tony's crap. Tony just has to show up at meetings and events and not make himself look like an ass.

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? Do you have plans?"

She pushed her folder toward Tony. "As a matter of fact I do."

I walked over to Tony's little drink station and got some water. I took a sip as I leaned against the counter. "She's allowed to have plans on her birthday."

Tony looked back at me and then to Pepper. "It's your birthday." Pepper nodded. "I knew that. Already?"

Pepper smiled. "Yeah, isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year."

"Well, get yourself something nice for me."

I smiled. "I already did."

Tony looked back at me. "Thank you." He once again turned back to Pepper. "And?"

She took the papers Tony had signed. "It's very nice and very tasteful. Thank you, Jess."

I raised my cup to her. "You're welcome, Pepper."

She made her way back to the door, left and ascended the stairs. Tony started putting some things away before his trip. He suddenly stopped and turned towards me. "Come to Afghanistan with me."

I looked at him like he was the craziest person on the planet. "Excuse me?"

He made his way over to me. "Come on. I've gotta give a weapon's demonstration and I could use the company."

I walked past him toward the door. "Won't Rhodey be going with you?"

He walked with me and even opened the door for me. He really wants me to go. As we started climbing the stairs, he continued. "Yeah, but you know Rhodey. He can be a buzz kill sometimes. Plus, I think he's still a little upset that I wasn't there to accept my award last night. And he'll probably be even more upset that I'm pushing being late by two hours." We had reached the top of the stairs and were headed down the hallway. I'd reached my door and was about to go into my room when Tony's arm blocked the door. He gave me his signature smile. "You'll be able to mark Asia off your list."

I laughed as I pushed his arm down and entered my room, leaving the door open. "Tony, I've been to China, Cambodia, Russia, and India. Asia has been off my list for some time now."

Tony cursed under his breath. "Come on, Jess. You know you'll have fun. You'll be with me. Plus, I haven't got to see you that much the past two weeks." He walked into my room and pulled my overnight bag out of my closet. He set it on my bed, and plopped himself down next to it. "Come on. One trip, that's all I'm asking."

I looked at him. I knew I was gonna give in the moment he opened the door for me downstairs. I sighed. "Fine."

He jumped off my bed in triumph. "Good. Now go. Shower. I gotta go pack." He left my room, quickly making his way down the hall. I sighed. I was going to regret this.

After taking a quick shower and dressing for what Tony told me to consider was a business meeting, I decided to go to the plane dressed casually, because I'd probably be sleeping, and I'd change just before we landed. Tony seemed to have the same idea, dressed in jeans, a long sleeved black shirt and his leather jacket slung over his shoulder. He came in my room, grabbed my bag and we headed out the door. He handed my overnight and garment bag to Happy, and then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the garage.

"What are we doing?" I asked. "Isn't Happy driving?"

He looked back at me and smirked, sliding his sunglasses onto his face. "Oh, Happy's driving." We entered the garage and he opened the passenger side of the Audi for me.

I gulped. I didn't like riding in cars with Tony when he was driving. "I think I'll just ride with Happy."

Tony laughed. "Nonsense, let's go." I reluctantly got into the car.

I was so relieved when we reached the plane. I'd never been so happy for my feet to touch the ground. Unfortunately, Tony doesn't believe in speed limits. Happy quickly pulled up behind us. I was sure Tony had lost him at some point. I quickly made my way to the plane as Happy got our bags out of the bag of the car. I made my way up to the door of the plane. I smiled at Rhodey and hugged him. "Long time, no see, Rhodey."

He smiled and hugged me back. "Nice to see you, Jess. Tony drag you along?"

I laughed. "Drag? Coerce? They mean the same thing to him." I entered the plane just as Tony reached Rhodey.

I had Happy put my bags with Tony's before he left. I hugged him. I couldn't help it. I was a hugger. Happy was a great guy. He was very loyal to Tony and I was grateful for that. He returned my hug and smiled at me. "See you when you get back, Jess." Tony patted his arm as he exited the plane.

Tony turned towards me like he was about to say something, but he just stared at me for a few seconds. I didn't know what was going through his mind, nor did I really want to at the moment. I sat down and buckled the seatbelt, as they were readying the plane to take off. Tony sat down next to me. I looked over at him. "If you're expecting someone to talk to during the flight, I'll be asleep."

Tony huffed. "Well, you're no fun. Now I'll be stuck with Rhodey." We both looked back at Rhodey, who was sitting, angry faced, looking at the paper. Tony turned back to me. "I don't think he's happy with me."

"Maybe you shouldn't have arrived three hours late," I replied, smiling. The plane jerked forward as it made its way down the runway. My hand automatically went to grab Tony's hand. It's not that I'm afraid of flying; its take-off and landing that always get me. Tony had flown with me before millions of times so he was used to this. As soon as we were safely in the air, I excused myself to a private part of the plane where I could sleep in peace.

Tony woke me up about forty minutes before landing, already dressed in his suit. I got up, washed my face, combed my hair and dressed for this "business meeting." I had brought a black pencil skirt, a high halter, blue, frilly top, and a pair of sleek black heels. I walked out into the main part of the plane and took my seat, awaiting the landing. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Tony was eyeing my outfit. "You should take a picture, Tony."

He smiled. "I already have plenty of pictures of you." He paused. "You look nice, by the way. Did I get that for you?"

I smirked. "You were standing over my shoulder when I bought it as my Christmas present… And you don't look too bad yourself."

Tony nodded. "That's it." I saw his head turn towards my feet. "Should you really be wearing those heels in the desert?"

I looked over at him. "Tony, I'm a girl. I could wear heels in the Arctic and I'd be okay."

He laughed and I joined in. The captain informed us that we were about to commence the landing sequence and that we needed to fasten our seatbelts. I did so quickly, as did Tony. He reached over and grabbed my hand before we even started descending.

Tony and I had known each other since I was born. Of course, I didn't remember back that far, but I digress. Tony was three when I was born. My father had worked with Tony's family for many, many years. Tony was the only kid my parents really trusted me to hang out with. Tony and I had been through thick and thin. He was with me when my mom died and my dad got depressed, having to be committed. I was with him when his parents died. We had each other's back. Tony had graduated from MIT at 17 and I graduated six years later at 20. He'd already taken over Stark Industries at that point and offered me a job as an advisor for the company, and gave me a place in his home. I didn't really do anything, honestly. I did about as much as Tony did. I showed up at meetings, talked to important people, and made the occasional decision to make the company better. I trusted him, he trusted me, and we had each other's backs. Sure, Tony was a narcissistic, arrogant playboy, but there were all these other qualities he barely let anyone else see. I was one of the few people that knew the real Tony, and I was okay with that.

As the plane finally came to a stop, I detached my hand from Tony's and unfastened my seatbelt. We both stood up and I straightened out my skirt and straightened Tony's tie for him. He smiled at me as we both made our way toward the exit.

Tony and I were greeted by a general and we were ushered toward a vehicle. The ride to the weapon demonstration site seemed fast. Rhodey didn't seem as upset, but you could tell he wasn't happy either. Poor Rhodey. Tony probably forced him to drink on the plane while his 'flight attendants' provided entertainment. That's partially the reason I fell asleep. I know what the flight attendants do on Tony's plane rides.

We reached the test site and Tony helped me out of the vehicle. I was told to stay back with Rhodey while Tony stood in front of the soldiers, ready to start the presentation. I was ready to hear what he was going to say. I knew I'd have a hard time holding back a laugh.

Tony simply stood with his arms at his side and started his speech. "Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, 'Is it too much to ask for both?' With that, I humbly present the crown jewel of the Stark Industries Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. _They_ say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire _once_. That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee the bad guys won't even wanna come out of their caves." Tony pointed toward the giant missile system that was on our right. The person operating it directed it toward the mountains behind Tony. We watched as the one on the left blasted from its resting position. It broke apart into smaller fragments in the air, all still flying toward the mountain. "Ladies and gentlemen, for your consideration… the Jericho." The mountain suddenly exploded and a large gust of air hit us hard, pushing us all back a bit. It was the best weapon Stark Industries had to offer.

Tony walked over to a Stark Industries chest and opened it. It was a cooled chest with various alcoholic beverages in it. "We'll be throwing one of these in with a purchase of 500 million or more." He raised his glass of scotch. "To peace."

I walked beside Tony as we made our way to the vehicle that would be taking us back to the base. His phone started to vibrate and he flipped it open, revealing a one Obadiah Stane, Tony's right hand man. He'd run Stark Industries after Tony's parents died, before Tony took the reins. "Tony!"

Tony took another sip of his drink. "Obi, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep till I found out how it went. How'd it go?"

"It went great," Tony said nonchalantly. "Looks like it's going to be an early Christmas."

This made Obadiah happy. "Hey! Way to go, my boy! Did you see Jess before you left?"

Tony pointed the phone towards me. "Hey, Obi!"

He looked shocked to see me. "Hey, Jess. I didn't know you were going on this trip."

I laughed. "I didn't either."

He smiled at us. "Well, I'll see you both tomorrow, yeah?"

Tony looked at me and smirked. "Yeah. Why aren't you wearing those pajamas I got you?"

"Goodnight, Tony. Bye, Jess," Obadiah replied, annoyed.

Tony flipped his phone closed as we reached our vehicle with a soldier holding the door open for us. Tony climbed in and then held his hand out to help me. I took it and stepped in the vehicle and the soldier closed the door. At that moment, Rhodey walked up to our vehicle and called, "Hey, Tony!"

At hearing this, Tony leaned over me to look out the window. "I'm sorry. This is the fun-vee. The hum-drum vee is back there."

Rhodey just looked at him. "Nice job."

"See you back at the base."

As Rhodey walked away, our vehicle fell into silence.

Silence. Questions. Explosions. Running. Explosions. Running. Explosions. Crawling. Blood. Darkness. Words. Bag. Dragging. Light. Camera. Tony. Bag.

I was shoved into a seat again, my hands being tied behind me this time. I didn't know what was happening. The bag was lifted from my head once more and the sight I saw brought tears to my eyes. Tony had had the bandages removed and now he was lying on a table, his chest exposed. It was a bloody, red mess. There was a man over him, with tools next to him and other men holding him down. The man with the tools began working on Tony's chest and Tony just screamed. He was conscious for this. I yelled for the man to stop, but he said he was saving his life. He pulled pieces of metal from Tony's chest and I just cried. One of the men holding us captive yelled something at me and the man working on Tony told me I was told to be quiet. I couldn't help it. My best friend was lying on a table, writhing in pain. I didn't want to see Tony in pain. I didn't want Tony to die. As the man working on Tony put this circular device into Tony's chest, I couldn't hold back the scream that came. The last thing I remember was pain coursing through my head and darkness surrounding me once again.

****

**Well there you have it. There's the first chapter. It's like the first sixteen minutes of the movie. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, good or bad, but I'd like them to be constructive. Don't just tell me I suck and should never write again. Give me pointers. If no one really wants to read this, I won't continue it. So I hope you guys like reading it as much as I liked writing it.**


	2. It Will Be Alright: Months 1, 2, and 3

**Thank you to everyone that has favorited this story or put it on alert. And a special thanks to Missy Mayhem, Mushroomking98, and TokyoGirl7 for your reviews. You all flatter me! I hope you enjoy the next installment.**

**Chapter 2: It Will Be Alright (Months One, Two and Three)**

I woke up being jostled around. I could only assume I was in the back of a vehicle. I couldn't really tell. There was a bag over my head once again. My mind automatically went to Tony. Was he alive? Was he okay? Where was he? Was he in the vehicle with me? My last two questions were answered quickly when the vehicle came to a stop and I felt something pulling me up. Moments later, I was shoved in the sand and I heard the hum of the vehicle get fainter and fainter until it was completely gone. I lay in the sand for a few moments before I reached my tied hands up to the bag on my head to remove it. My eyes didn't need to adjust to the light, because it was sunset. I looked around and couldn't see anything but sand. There was nothing in sight in any direction. I had no idea where I was. Whoever had been holding me captive had left me out here to die.

I pulled at the knot around my wrists with my teeth and it started to loosen. Once I got the knot off, I started working on the knot around my ankles. Now that I was completely free, I stood up and looked around to see if I could figure out which way to go. I saw the tire tracks and thought it would be a bad idea to go back where I came from. I had to pick a direction and go. I was not going to die in this desert. I was going to find some way to find help, contact Rhodey, and help with the search for Tony. I was not going to lose my best friend. Since I didn't have any shoes, I ripped the bag in half and used the two ropes to make some kind of barrier between my feet and the sand.

I located Polaris and started walking towards it. North wasn't a bad idea. It was away from the tire tracks and that was fine with me. I had to find someone soon. I hadn't drank or eaten anything in a while, so I was already in bad shape. The sun was almost completely behind the horizon now, so I'd be walking in almost complete darkness soon; the moon was shining a bit. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so I kept walking. The farther I walked the better chance I had at reaching someone. I walked all through the night and into the morning. When the sun was completely over my head, I had to take a break. I was beginning to see double. I needed to rest and I'd walked through the night when it was cooler. When sunset came, I made myself stand up and continue walking. When the sun was completely down, I saw a faint glow on the horizon ahead of me. It had to be a town of some sort. If I made myself, I could get there before sunrise.

I was right. The glow was a small town. By the time I'd reached it, I was completely out of breath, on the verge of passing out. I had to stay awake though. I had to contact Rhodey. The sun was just peaking over the mountains on the horizon. I knocked on the door of the first house I came to. I heard shuffling and the door opened slowly. It was an elderly woman. She looked at me strangely. I would be too if a dirty stranger with a ripped dress shirt and skirt showed up on my door, heaving and gasping for air. I held my hand up to my ear and mouth, in the shape of a phone, gasping the word phone over and over. She understood me, thank God, and invited me inside. Her English was limited but we could communicate. She brought me water and a phone, then left saying she had to get something. I drained the water out of the cup and hastily picked up the phone.

I quickly dialed Rhodey's number and waited. It rang and rang. The more it rang, the worse I felt. _Please, Rhodey, answer your phone._ Finally, I heard a click on the other line, and then a voice. "This is Rhodes." He said, quickly.

I sighed with relief. "Rhodey, its Jess. I'm in some village. I've been walking for a day and a half and have no idea where I am. Lock onto this signal and come get me."

I heard him yell to someone he was with. "Jess, it's so good to hear your voice. Where's Tony? Is he with you?"

For some reason, I couldn't hold back the sob that came out. "No…but I saw him. He was hurt. They knocked me out and then dumped me in the middle of the desert." I let out another sob. "You have to come get me so I can help with the search." I allowed one more sob. "I have to find Tony."

I heard Rhodey sigh. "Don't worry, Jess. We have the signal from where you're calling. We're on our way. Just stay where you are. We'll be there within half an hour." I sighed with relief. "Jess, we're gonna find Tony. Just sit tight." The line clicked and I leaned back in the seat.

The woman brought me some bread, which I was thankful for. Within half an hour. Thirty minutes. I could wait that long. The elderly woman sat across from me and stared at me. "You American, yes?" She asked.

I nodded with my mouth full of bread and water. I swallowed quickly. "Yes, ma'am, and thank you so much for this," I said, holding up the food she'd given me. "I haven't eaten in a few days."

She nodded, understanding. "You lose your friend? Tony?" I guess she'd been listening to my conversation.

"We were both kidnapped or something. Taken hostage. I don't know where he is or if he's even okay. I don't even know where I am."

The woman placed her hand on mine and smiled. "You find him."

Tears threatened to come to my eyes. I hoped I'd be able to find Tony. I had to. "I sure hope so, ma'am." I can't lose him.

The woman just continued to smile at me as I chewed on the bread. I was so thankful to have food in my stomach again. I hadn't even eaten breakfast before Tony and I came to Afghanistan. I didn't even know how long I'd been here. It felt like a day and weeks all at the same time.

My time in the woman's house didn't last very long. Rhodey was there fairly quickly, thanking the woman for letting me contact him. He put a blanket around me and walked me out to the helicopter that was right outside the village. As I was helped in and strapped in to a seat, I knew the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours would be full of doctors and questions. I was surprised that Rhodey hadn't immediately laid into me with inquires, but I was thankful he didn't. He just sat there with his arm around my shoulders as I stared forward.

I was already formulating a plan as to how I would find Tony. I'd have JARVIS on my side and he was basically as good as any satellite the US Government controlled. I could use any satellite that was in orbit anyway. I could hack faster than JARVIS could give me the weather reports in the mornings.

The ride in the helicopter was slow and fast all at once. I'd had the initial medical things taken while we were in the air. My blood pressure, pulse, and temperature had been taken and I was given more water. When we landed, I wasn't entirely sure where we were. I just know that Rhodey put an arm around my back and under my arm, and he helped walk me to the gurney waiting for me outside. I hadn't realized how clouded my mind was until the oxygen mask was put on my face. As soon as I breathed in, my mind started to clear and I welcomed the clarity. It helped me formulate my plan even more. The man, who I assumed was the medic, told me to close my eyes and try to get some rest while they worked on me. _Worked on me?_ Oh well, what did I care at the moment? I wouldn't be able to help Tony until I was medically cleared. It hit me how exhausted I was now. I was completely physically drained. I let my eyes droop and welcomed the sleep like an old friend.

When I opened my eyes, I was fairly certain I'd be back in the desert, that I'd dreamed up finding the village and being able to contact Rhodey. But when I opened my eyes, Rhodey was lounged in a chair across the room I was in. I sighed loudly and he heard me, his head perking up in my direction. He immediately put down whatever he was reading and walked over to me.

He smiled at me warmly. I smiled back. It was nice to see a familiar face. "Welcome back to the States, Jess."

I frowned. I needed to be back in Afghanistan. At least there, I could show them where I walked and landmarks I remembered. Here I was useless, at least, until I got ahold of a computer. "Where am I?"

"You're at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Don't worry. You've been out for a while. They checked you out and other than being extremely dehydrated, you were fine. We'll call Happy to come get you as soon as the medics clear you," Rhodey said, reassuringly.

I shook my head. "No, Rhodey, I have to help search for Tony. I could've shown you which direction I came from and where-"

"We tracked your footprints back through the desert until we came to where they stopped. The wind must've blown the rest of your tracks and any evidence the kidnappers could've left away." I frowned. "But we are not giving up. We will find Tony."

I opened my mouth to say something but closed it and opted to just nod. I had to have faith that we would find Tony. Rhodey gave me a friendly smile and stepped outside my room, speaking to someone. A medic came in and began checking my vitals, making sure it was safe for me to leave. I knew I was fine, but I waited patiently for him to finish. It was his job. After he was satisfied, he removed my IV and told me I'd be free to go. Rhodey called Happy, and told him to bring me a change of clothes when he came to get me. The Air Force Base was about an hour away from Malibu and that was one of the worst things: the waiting. To pass the time, they let me take a shower and the medics gave me some sweats while I waited for my actual clothes. I washed the desert and grime off of me. When I got out, I didn't even have to put on the sweats. Happy was there with my clothes waiting for me. I smiled sadly at him, one which he returned, and I took the clothes from him. He left the room and I quickly put on the jeans and shirt. I threw my hair up in a bun, not planning on leaving the house once I got there.

They wheeled me out in a wheelchair, which was completely unnecessary. When we reached the outside of the facility, Rhodey walked me to the car and gave me a hug. I returned it but quickly got into the car. I was ready to get back to the house. Happy quickly followed suit, getting into the driver's seat and promptly left the base. I leaned my head back against the seat and breathed in and out slowly. I was happy to be out of there. The faster I got home, the faster I could start my search. I began to formulate my plan in my head, going over and over every little thing I'd need to do. I knew JARVIS would be a big help. JARVIS would actually do a lot of it, everything I couldn't do. I'm sure even though he was a computer, he'd want to find Tony as fast as I could.

When I opened my eyes we were pulling up to the house and quickly came to a stop. I was thankful Happy hadn't tried to talk to me on the way home. I heard him talk to someone on the phone. I assumed it was Pepper, since he ended the conversation with 'I love you.' I opened the door of the car and made my way up the steps, Happy following me with the bag I'd left on Tony's plane back in Afghanistan. I stopped in front of the door, Happy stepping in front of me to unlock it. He opened the door for me and I stepped inside, Happy following me once more.

I wasn't prepared for how empty it felt stepping into the house. I could tell Tony wasn't there. I could feel his presence lacking somehow. I stared at the open area before me. My whole plan to find Tony was suddenly falling apart. I felt like the breath was taken from my lungs. I held onto the table next to the coat rack for support. I could feel Happy's eyes on me so I tried to compose myself. I steadied my breathing.

"Jess, do you need anything?" Happy asked. I shook my head.

"No, Happy, I'm fine. You can leave the bag by the door," I replied, not turning toward him.

I heard him place the bag on the floor, then moments later a hand on my shoulder. "Pepper will be by in the morning to help with things." The hand left my shoulder and I heard the door open and shut. My breath left me again.

I walked slowly down the hall. I just wanted to collapse my bed and sleep for days. I was almost to my room, passing Tony's room, when I stopped and backtracked. I stared at Tony's bedroom door. I wanted to open this door and see Tony sleeping in his bed. I wanted all of it to have been a terrible dream and my best friend to be waiting for me in the morning. I put my hand on the door and pushed it open. Even through all that had happened I was still shocked not to see Tony lying in the bed.

Everything hit me at once. My best friend could be dead. If he was dead and they found his body eventually, I would be putting my best friend in the ground. I was hit with an emotional bullet. I felt the tears come and I didn't try to stop them. My breathing became sporadic and I collapsed to the floor in front of Tony's bed. I couldn't handle not having Tony in my life. It's something I wasn't used to. He was always there. Even if he wasn't physically present, I would be able to get ahold of him somehow. I had no way of contacting him at all and that scared me. I pulled myself off the floor and crawled into Tony's bed. I wrapped myself in the sheets and continued to let the tears fall.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

"_Is it on?" I asked, fumbling with the tape recorder in my hand._

_Tony took it from my hands and looked at it. "Yes, it's on. You pressed record."_

_We were sitting in my backyard, up against the trunk of my big oak tree. Tony had snuck over a few minutes ago, as planned, so we could put our time capsule in the ground. It was a little chilly, but I was excited to do this._

"_You go."_

"_Hello. The year is 1989. This is Tony Stark and I'm fifteen."_

"_This is Jessica Willows, I'm twelve, and this is our time capsule."_

_We'd been planning to do this for quite some time, it actually being Tony's idea. I thought it was a sweet thing. He was headed off to MIT soon and he wanted us to do something nice before he left. If we were still friends in twenty years, we'd come dig it up, or whoever owned this house might find it._

_Tony turned to me. "What exactly do you say in a time capsule recording?"_

_I laughed. "I don't know. This was your idea. You say whatever you want."_

_He looked at me for a second, deciding what to say. "I'm making this time capsule with my best friend. She's the coolest girl I've ever met. I know when I take over Stark Industries—that's right, I'm the heir to Stark Industries—I know she'll be by my side. If you ever get the privilege of meeting Jess Willows, consider yourself a lucky person, because I do. Every day."_

_I smiled a wide smile at him and took the tape recorder from his hand. "I have to say that even though Tony has a big ego, he's a really sweet boy. He hangs out with me even though I'm three years younger than he is and he sticks up for me when no one else does. If you have the chance to meet Tony Stark, count your blessings, because he's awesome."_

"_You just basically said what I said and changed the words around. That's cheating," he said, reaching for the recording device._

_I pulled it out of his reach. "I was trying to be nice and compliment you. If you'd like, I can take back what I said."_

_Tony laughed. "You can't take it back, it's been recorded."_

"_All I have to do is click rewind and record over what I said. For someone going to MIT, you don't have much common sense," I said, sticking out my tongue._

_Tony squinted his eyes at me before lunging at the tape recorder. I tried to keep if from him, but he snatched it from my hand. "Nope. You're not taking it back. It's been said. It's out in the open." He slung his arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug. "Even if it wasn't original, it was very sweet and I love you for it." I rolled my eyes at him. "I mean it. I really do, Jess. No matter what happens in the years to come, I know you'll always be there. You can just tell with people who are going to be there for you. You're that. I love you, kiddo."_

_I rolled my eyes again, but replied with a smile, "I love you, too, Tony."_

_He smiled and kissed my cheek, ending it with a big smacking sound. I wiped my face furiously. He laughed at me and held the tape recorder up to his face. "And that is how you record a time capsule message," he said, and then promptly clicking the stop button._

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I woke up before JARVIS could come to life to wake me. I hadn't opened my eyes and I could smell Tony. I had the small hope that I had dreamed the entire thing and that I was lying next to Tony for some reason, but then I remembered the night before. I opened my eyes to find myself curled up in Tony's bed. I sighed. I had gotten everything out of my system last night, crying until I fell asleep. I sat up quickly in his bed and hastily pulled the sheets off. I left his room quickly and made my way to my room. I closed the door, went into the bathroom, stripped down and got into the shower. I scrubbed myself thoroughly, washed and rinsed my hair, and then stepped out. I dressed quickly, only bothering to towel dry my hair, and headed down the stairs to the garage.

I entered my code and opened the door, making my way over to the desk with all the computers. I plopped down and only then was it when I saw the time. It was almost five in the morning. It would be a few hours before Pepper showed up. I typed a few things in, passwords Tony had set up just in case someone, somehow, broke in and tried it hack his system. His systems came to live and JARVIS finally spoke.

"Good morning, Miss Willows. How are you this morning?"

I scoffed. "Terrible. We're gonna be busy for a while. Well, I hope not a while."

"Are you referring to searching for Mr. Stark?"

I sighed. "Yes, JARVIS, we'll be searching for him. I need you to link up to the satellites that fly over Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East. Once they're past that point, switch to a new satellite feed."

"Right away, Miss Willows."

The next six hours were spent scouring through satellite images, but the Middle East was a rather large place. I refused to get up though. In the back of my mind I knew this wouldn't be a one day process, but I wanted it to be. I was so focused on the computers I hadn't even seen the time or noticed when Pepper came in.

I jumped when I felt Pepper tap my shoulder. I turned and sighed. "Oh, Pepper. It's just you."

She gave me the same sad smile everyone had been giving me. I was honestly tired of it, because it was the same sad smile I got when my mother died, but I wasn't going to say anything. Everyone was just being sympathetic.

"How are you feeling, Jess?"

"As good as I can feel when my best friend is in the middle of the stupid desert and all I can do is go through satellite feeds for hours on end," I heaved, sadly. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired of sitting in front of these computers and not finding anything. Happy told me you'd be by here this morning. What's up?"

She looked down at her planner that she always carried. "We told the press yesterday that you didn't want to make any statements, which I assumed was correct. Obadiah wanted to come by, but he's extremely busy and wanted me to tell you that you are not required to return to work at the moment. He understands you went through a lot and said to take some time off."

The computer began to beep, telling me the satellite was no longer above the Middle East. I clicked a few buttons, switching satellite feeds. When it was connected, I turned back to Pepper. "I'm sure Obi is running the company for the time being?"

"For the time being, yes."

"Good. He'll keep the company under control until Tony gets back…if Tony gets back."

"Hey, Jess, I have faith that he'll be back. Rome wasn't built in a day." She checked her watch. "I would stay, but I have a lunch with Happy before I have to be back at Headquarters."

I smiled at her. I was happy for the two of them. When Tony had first hired Pepper, he'd tried to bed her as fast as possible, but she had none of it. Eventually they had a mutual respect for one another, becoming good friends in the end. Eventually, Tony decided to play matchmaker and set the two up. They'd been together for a couple of years now, and I was sure Happy would propose soon. "Go. Have fun."

Pepper smiled at me once more. "You're going to find him, Jess."

"I hope so, Pepper." She left me and once again, I went back to staring at computer screens, only leaving them to go get food.

My days seemed to flow together. I'd fall asleep at the computers very often, waking up when they'd beep. My days were extremely routine. I'd wake up in the morning, shower, come back down to the garage, and search the Middle East for hours on end, only to fall asleep at the computers once again. Some nights I'd make myself go up the stairs and sleep in bed. I'd always intend to sleep in my own bed, but I'd always end up curled up in Tony's bed. The first two months were like that.

At the end of the second month, there was a three week period where I just gave up. I stopped sleeping in Tony's bed. I didn't go down to the garage. I'd wake up, cook breakfast, go for a run, come back and shower, and I'd actually call Happy to take me to Headquarters. I attended a few meetings. I had intended on giving up on finding Tony. It had been over two months and I was tired of crying myself to sleep every night, even though that hadn't stopped. It was Pepper who pulled me out of my funk and convinced me to continue my search.

JARVIS had continued looking at satellite feeds, even when I'd given up. Aside from the war going on, nothing eventful was happening. I saw increased activity in a town called Gulmira, but I couldn't connect it to Tony.

One morning, after coming down with a coffee in hand, I saw something promising: increased activity in the middle of nowhere. I had the satellite zoom in in time to see flames and something flying through the air. My heart began to race rapidly. I hoped this was the break I'd been looking for. My renewed vigor in finding Tony had increased by the millions. The object landed in the middle of the desert and I hoped whatever it was would help me find Tony.

"JARVIS, is there a predator drone in the area near that crash site?"

"There are three, miss."

"I need you to hack into one. I need control of one for just a few minutes."

I sat for a few minutes, tapping my foot. "I have a predator drone for you."

"Fly it over that crash site. I need to see what in the world that was."

I watched as one of the computer screens began moving. I watched carefully as the drone got closer and closer to the crash site. I was sitting on the edge of my chair, my face practically up against the screen. As soon as the crash site came into view, I aimed the camera for it. As I zoomed in, I just kept hoping and praying that whatever this was, would lead me to Tony. When the predator was close enough, I froze the image. Pressing a few buttons, the image began to clear. Tears sprang to my eyes when the face of Tony Stark showed up on the computer screen. I felt like I could breathe again.

"JARVIS, send the coordinates of the crash site to Rhodey now please!"

I immediately ran out the door, up the stairs and into Tony's room. I grabbed my phone off of the nightstand and dialed Rhodey's number. It rang and rang before I finally got a, "Hey, Jess. I was-"

"Rhodey!" I exclaimed. I was so happy. "The coordinates you just got-"

"Yeah, I was just about to call you. What are those?"

"That's where I just found Tony."

I heard Rhodey yelling to people that weren't me. "You're sure about this?"

I smiled. "I can send you the screen shot off the computer of him sitting in the sand in the middle of the desert."

Rhodey laughed. "No, that's okay. We're getting a team together right now and leaving in twenty minutes." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll have Tony Stark back in the states by tomorrow."

I smiled even wider. "Let Pepper know what time we should be at the Air Force Base to get him." I started to hang up, but stopped. "Thank you so much, Rhodey."

"I'll bring him back, Jess." And with that, he hung up.

I collapsed onto the bed, tears now streaming down my face. Tony was alive. Tony was alive and he was okay. I couldn't stop crying, but it was a very good cry. I'd been without my best friend for three months. He was really all I had. If he had died, I'm very certain I would've fallen apart, but he was okay. He was alive. I didn't have to worry anymore. Rhodey was going to bring Tony home and everything would be okay. I couldn't even think. I just knew it felt like weight was off my chest and I could breathe normally again.

I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 9 at night. As excited as I was to see Tony, I hadn't slept well for a long time. I rolled into the bed the rest of the way and curled up into the sheets. I drifted peacefully off to sleep, knowing getting to see Tony was right around the corner.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I woke up to my phone ringing on the nightstand. It was a message from Pepper. She told me that she and Happy would be stopping by the house to get me at ten thirty to make our way to the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Rhodey had successfully found Tony and they were on their way here. I was so relieved. I'd get to see my best friend today. I rolled over in Tony's bed and saw that it was nine. I pulled myself out of bed, went into my bathroom and showered. When I was finished, I found myself standing in front of my closet. For some reason, I wanted to be dressed really nicely when I saw Tony today. I went through everything in my closet multiple times before finally settling on a red spaghetti strap top, skinny jeans, a leather jacket Tony had bought me for one of my few birthdays he'd remembered. I brushed and dried my hair, brushed my teeth, and slipped my heels on. By the time I'd finished, I received a message from Pepper that she and Happy were waiting for me outside.

I bounded down the steps to the car, ready to get this show on the road. I was fairly certain I'd tackle Tony when I saw him. I opened the back door and practically hopped into the car. I was too excited to contain myself. As soon as I saw Pepper, I wanted to cry. She had tears in her eyes. "Pepper, are you okay?"

She smiled, laughed, and then sniffed. "Yes. Just happy I won't have to find another job."

I smiled at her. "You could've been my assistant."

The car ride seemed to drag on for ages. I was bouncing my legs up and down anxiously. Pepper laughed at me a couple of times, but I didn't care. I was ready to see Tony. We pulled up to the gate and they let us in quickly. We parked the car and I looked to see an ambulance next to us, which worried me. Pepper got out of the car, as did Happy, and I couldn't bring myself to get out yet. If he was hurt, I didn't want to see that. I looked out to the other side and saw the plane rolling to a stop. My heart was beating out of control. When it stopped, the back began to open up and there was my best friend, with Rhodey walking beside him. I wasn't expecting the tears that came.

Tony had his right arm in a sling, but other than that, he looked like himself. He looked offended that the ambulance was there and Rhodey had them roll the gurney away. He walked up to Pepper and they exchanged a few words. I couldn't take it anymore. I opened the car door and quickly stepped out, slamming the door shut. Tony looked over at me and he looked like he saw a ghost. He held up his hand to cut Pepper's sentence short. He began stepping toward me, slowly at first, then more quickly. I was a bit confused. Was he not happy to see me? He stopped right in front of me, looking me up and down, disbelief on his face. After a few minutes, he suddenly pulled me to him, embracing me in the best one armed hug he could muster. I heard him exhale in my ear as he held me tightly. I returned the hug, extremely happy to see him, and cried on his shoulder. After what felt like hours, Tony pulled back, and I could tell he was holding back emotions. We were around too many people for him to show his true emotions. He smiled at me, raising his left hand to wipe my tears away. I couldn't understand the way he'd been acting a few minutes ago until he spoke, and what he said kind of shocked me.

"God, Jess, I thought you were dead," he practically whispered.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**


	3. Reunion

**Thank you to everyone that has favorited this story or put it on alert. And a special thanks to Mushroomking98, TokyoGirl7, Nikel's lover, Inez2002, Alyssa. Holt and Are You Afraid Yet for your reviews. I'm sorry I kinda lied. My weekend got tied up and I couldn't update. I got it to you guys as quick as I could. Oh and Tony gets kind of emotional toward the end so if it seems like he's out of character, I'm sorry. Nevertheless, enjoy :)**

**Typical Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and all those people at Marvel own the rights to Tony and the gang. I just own my OC.**

**Chapter 3: Reunion**

My arms went limp around Tony and then fell to my sides. I hadn't been prepared for that statement. I'd been looking for him for three months. He thought I was dead? Had no one on the plane told him that I'd been the one to locate him? It took me a few minutes to recover from his statement before I looked at him. His eyes told me we'd talk about it later. I knew he wouldn't be comfortable talking about something like this in front of so many people. Instead, I just gave him another hug. I had my best friend back and I was not letting go.

He opened the car door for me and I got in slowly, not ready to let go of him. He got in right behind me. Pepper walked around the car and Happy opened the door for her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She climbed in the back of the car and Happy proceeded to get into the driver's seat. He looked up into the rearview mirror.

"Where to, sir?" He asked.

"Take us to the hospital, Happy," Pepper answered for him, but Tony came back with a no. I knew Tony would have none of that. "No? Tony you have to go to the hospital."

"Tony, she's right. You really should go to the hospital. At least get checked out."

He turned to me. "I don't _have_ to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I _want_ to do. I want an American cheeseburger. And the other…" Oh lord. I knew where this was going. I raised an eyebrow at him.

Pepper cut him off. "Is not going to happen. That's enough of that."

"It's not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference, now."

"Call for a press conference? What on Earth for?" Pepper practically read my mind.

"Seriously, Tony." I leaned forward and put my hand on his knee. "Please, get checked out first."

He looked up at me. "No, Jess. I have to do this." He turned to Happy. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

We rode in silence after Pepper made the call for the press conference. I could feel Tony's eyes on me for the duration of our ride to the nearest burger joint. I had my eyes on Tony's arm that was currently held by the sling. I really wish he'd gotten medically cleared before deciding to hold this mysterious press conference. The car was no long silent once Tony had his cheeseburger. Then the sounds of him devouring his meal were in the car. I could understand him eating the way he was. He had been in the Afghan desert for three months. I was attacking my food after three days. He was on his second cheeseburger when we pulled up to the building Tony would be speaking in. I could see many Stark Industry employees, including Obadiah standing outside. Obadiah looked like his smile was a bit forced. I could understand that. Tony had just returned. What could he possibly have to announce to the public?

Obadiah opened the door for us and as soon as Tony stepped out, Obadiah engulfed him in his arms. This was actually the first time I'd seen Obadiah since _I'd_ gotten back from the desert. As I stepped out of the car, I heard him ask Tony if Tony had gotten a cheeseburger for him. I had to laugh at that. Obadiah turned and saw me, immediately giving me a hug as well. Tony grabbed another cheeseburger and we made our way toward the large building. Once inside the large hall Tony would be speaking in, the reporters and other media personnel started yelling and clapping. I decided I'd stay back with Pepper. I'd always hated reporters, and I had yet to give a statement about my short time with Tony in Afghanistan.

Tony and Obadiah made their way up to the front of the room, as a man in a suit made his way over to Pepper and me. He stood next to Pepper before speaking. "Ms. Potts? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Pepper looked confused. "I'm not a part of this…" She said, using her hands to indicate she was speaking about the press conference. "The press conference, it's about to begin."

"I'm not a reporter," he stated. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division." _Good lord, what a name!_

Pepper seemed to be thinking the same thing as Agent Coulson handed her a card. "That's quite a mouthful."

He smiled. "I know. We're working on it."

"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…"

He cut her off. "We're a separate division with a more…specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."

That caught my attention. I hadn't even figured out how Tony escaped. All I saw on the satellite feed around him was metal. How had he gotten away from those guys? I'd hoped he'd tell me soon, but with everything going on, I didn't see us getting free time together anytime soon.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper told him, pulling me from my thoughts.

He thanked her and began to walk away. At that moment, Obadiah took to the microphone.

"Alright, let's get started. Uh…" He looked down and I followed his gaze.

Tony was sitting in front of the podium, getting ready to pull a cheeseburger out of his pocket. "Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down? Would you just sit down? That way you can see me and I can…" He took a bite of his burger as all the reporters started following his request. "It's a little less formal." He sat silently as the reporters continued to sit down.

Pepper and I looked at each other and lowered ourselves as well. Rhodey walked over to us, looking as confused as we did. "What's up with the loving?" He asked us.

"You got me," I replied, looked to Pepper.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to."

I could see Tony mumble a few things to Obadiah before he turned to face the crowd. "I never got to say goodbye to my father." I felt a jolt of pain in my heart for him. I knew how he felt about that. "There are questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him about how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts." He paused, wiping his mouth, and I wanted to cry for Tony. I wanted to run up to the podium and just hug him because I knew that's what he needed. "Or maybe he was every inch of the man we remember from the news reels." He paused again. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them." He made eye contact with me. "I almost lost my best friend, the only real thing I have left in life." I felt a tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away. He looked back to everyone in the room. "I saw that I became a part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability." He stopped talking for a few seconds, letting it all soak in. I started to wonder where he was going with this. A few reporters in the front raised their hands. He allowed one to ask a question.

"What happened over there?" The reporter asked blatantly.

At this, Tony stood up and began to walk around the podium. "I…had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up, and that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries," at this, the reporters went into a frenzy and I could no longer hear what Tony was saying.

I looked to Pepper. "Did he say what I think he said?" Pepper looked as stunned as I did and just nodded. I looked back to the podium to see Obadiah now standing behind the podium and Tony walking away from it, through the sea of reporters. I could hear Obadiah trying to convince the reporters that there would be an internal discussion about this, but I knew Tony would have none of it. Tony walked toward us and signaled for us to follow him. We followed behind him and got into the car, where Happy almost immediately took off. Tony turned to Pepper first.

"Do whatever you need that is necessary and then you're done. You get the day off," Tony said.

"No, Tony I've basically had three months off," she replied, trying to reason.

I decided to interject. "Pep, you've been busier the past three months than I've ever seen you."

Tony smiled at me for backing him up and then turned to Pepper. "See, take the day off." Her phone rang at that moment and she picked it up. He turned back to me once again. "You, I'm taking you back to the house." I stared at him in disbelief. I didn't want to let Tony out of my sight. "I gotta take care of a couple of things. I'll be back later. I actually have something I need to show you. We'll order pizza or something, I dunno. But," he glanced at Pepper, making sure she was distracted by the phone, not wanting her to hear," I'm yours for the night. You have no idea how happy I am to see you." I smiled at him as we pulled up in front of the house. I opened the door but looked back at him. "I promise I'm not going anywhere." I got out of the car and watched it drive away before making my way to the door of the house. Once inside, I realized I was still really tired and I wanted to be wide awake when Tony was home, so I made my way to the couch and crashed on it, letting sleep take me over.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I heard a beep and my name and then my name again and again. Finally, rousing from sleep, I looked around, but no one was there. I laid my head back down, but I heard my name once again. I finally decided to respond. "What?" I asked the air, annoyingly.

"_Geez, someone is still moody when they wake up from naps."_

I smiled hearing Tony's voice but still didn't open my eyes. "Where are you?"

"_I'm down in the garage. I…kinda need your help with something, but you have to promise not to freak out."_

I opened my eyes and sat up, looking at the stairs that led to the garage. "Why would I freak out?"

"_No reason, just…get down here. Please."_

I made my way to the stairs and walked down slowly and stopped at the door. I could see Tony reclined back in a chair with a light shining on his chest. I couldn't tell what he was looking at, but I entered my code and walked into the garage. "Tony, what's going on?" I yawned. "And when did you get home?"

"I got home a couple of hours ago. You were still asleep and I had one last thing to take care of." He held up his hand and I stopped walking. "Let me see your hands for a second." I looked at him like he was an idiot, but held them up nonetheless. "I knew they were small."

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. "If you're gonna make fun of me, I'm going upstairs."

"No! Small hands equal good hands." He waved me over and I started walking to him slowly. "You have to promise not to freak out. Understand?" I nodded. "Okay. Come here." As I got closer I finally saw it. There was a circular, metal, glowing device in the middle of his chest. Memories came flooding back of the guy that was working on Tony while I watched, digging things out of his chest, Tony screaming, and blood everywhere. "After the explosion, some metal barbs got into my system and were making their way to my heart. I assume you were there when Yinsen put the plate in my chest?" I only nodded, not putting trust in my voice. I assumed Yinsen was the man who was doing the procedure. "I thought I heard you… Anyway, Yinsen couldn't get them all out. So to keep them from entering my heart and killing me, he put an electromagnetic plate hooked up to a car battery in there. They wanted me to build the Jericho missile for them. Instead, with Yinsen's help, I built a miniaturized arc reactor and some armor and got out of there." The next part I barely heard. "He sacrificed himself so I could get out." He paused, letting me soak up everything he'd just poured out on me. "Told you not to freak out on me, Jess."

I shook my head, indicating to him that I wasn't freaking out. "So," I finally spoke, my voice slightly coming back. "This thing," I asked, while tracing the outside of it with my hand, "is keeping you alive?"

"It was. It is now an antique." He held up another device similar to the one in his chest. "This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm trading it in for an upgrade. Just ran into a little speed bump, a snag, if you will." He started to remove the device from his chest. "There's an exposed wire under this device and its contacting the socket wall, causing a little bit of a short." With that, he yanked the tiny arc reactor from his chest. He handed it to me and I sat it on the table behind me. I looked at him expectantly. "I just want you to reach in and gently lift the wire out," he finished, trying to sound calm.

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Yeah. It should be fine. It's just like Operation, just don't let it touch the socket wall," Tony said.

That didn't comfort me one bit. "Tony, I was horrible at Operation."

"Just gently lift the wire."

I slowly eased my hand into the hole in Tony's chest. I found this quite odd, having my hand in my best friend's body. Having my hand in anyone's body would be odd. My fingers lightly touched something gooey. I immediately retracted my hand and stared at the hole in his chest. "Tony, I can't do this. I could seriously hurt you."

Tony grabbed my hand, as I continued to stare at the hole in his chest. "You're my best friend and I trust you. I'm here, I'm gonna tell you exactly what to do. You'll be fine. Hey." I looked up at him. "I trust you, Jessica. You'll do fine. I promise. Is it really too much to ask? I really need your help here."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine, I'll do it." I lowered my hand into the hole once again. I stopped at the gooey stuff again, gathered my courage and pushed in. "This is disgusting. What is this?"

His voice came out strained. "It's an inorganic plasmic discharge. It's from the device, not from my body."

"That doesn't make it any better. This is nasty." I continued to feel around for this wire I was supposed to grab.

"The copper wire, do you feel it?"

I dug around a bit more until I touched something thin and metal. "Yeah, I've got it." I started to tug on it.

"Now when you're pulling it, make sure it…" My hand slipped and the wire fell from my hands. I grabbed for it, but it had already shocked Tony. He gave me a look.

I rolled my eyes and continued to pull. "I told you I was bad at Operation." It felt like there was something heavy at the end. I pulled and a ring came out. The machines around us immediately went crazy. "What did I do?"

"I should've warned you not to pull out the magnet at the end of it," Tony strained, trying to sound calm for my sake.

I began to panic and dropped the magnet on the table. "Tony, please don't die on me!"

"Just mild cardiac arrest. I'm not going to die, Jess," he chuckled a bit at my hysterics.

"Mild cardiac arrest? You told me this was safe. I told you I was bad at Operation!" I repeated.

He laughed a little more and then gave a pained expression. "Alright, let's make this quick, shall we?" He grabbed the new arc reactor and handed it to me. "All you're gonna do is attach it to the baseplate in there, alright?"

I nodded. "Baseplate. Yeah, I can do that." I lowered the wire end of the device into Tony's chest. I was trying to feel around for the baseplate, but it was hard with one hand. I finally felt it with my hand and attached the device. It made a zapping sound and Tony yelped.

He smiled at me. "There was that so hard? I got it," he said, adjusting the reactor in his chest.

I sighed. The machines had gone back to beeping at a normal rate. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great. Are you okay?" He asked, laughing at me. He pulled the leads off his chest and sat up.

I stared and the 'discharge' on my hands and grimaced. "This," I said, holding my hands up, "better never happen again."

He looked at me and made a face. "I don't have anyone but you." I stared at him for a second, sadness in my eyes, knowing it was the same for me. "It's true." He smiled at me and I smiled back.

Deciding to ruin the moment, I wiped my hands all over his pants. He just stared at me. "Now, after three long, vigorous months, can I have my Tony night?" I pouted a little bit for show.

Tony hopped off the chair and stared me down. I was a bit intimidated because I was afraid he'd get me back for the pants. Then he smiled and said, "I'll call the pizza place."

He started to walk away and my eyes fell on the table. I grabbed the old arc reactor. "Tony, what are you going to do with this?"

He turned and stared at it in my hands and then said, "That?... Destroy it. Incinerate it."

I looked at him oddly. "You don't want to keep it?"

He eyed me before taking it out of my hands. "Jess, I've been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them." I knew him better than that. He turned back to the door. He opened it quickly and made his way up the stairs. I could've sworn I heard him yell. "PIZZA TIME!"

I looked back down at the arc reactor on Tony's desk. I decided I'd do something with it. I found a towel on one of the desks and quickly wiped my hands off. Once done, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed a number. I smiled when I heard the hello. "Pepper, I need you to do me a favor."

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

As soon as he heard the car pull up, Tony ran to the door to get the pizza. We had yet to talk about what happened earlier in the day. I was curious as to why he thought I was dead. I was pulled from my thoughts when Tony jogged back into the room with the pizza box in his hand. I smiled as he sat the box on the table in front of me and then grabbed it again. I looked up at him confused.

"Let's chill in my room," Tony stated, and walked down the hall, leaving me on the couch.

I didn't question him. We'd had hang out nights in his room before and I didn't mind. I got off the couch and looked into his room. I could see the bathroom door open, so I assumed he was changing and I decided to do the same. I scurried to my room and threw on a pair of black shorts and a red tank top. I made my way back to Tony's room and found him throwing his clothes for the day down the hamper for me to wash later or send to the cleaners and the pizza sitting at the end of the bed. I launched myself into the bed I had been sleeping in on and off for the past three months. Tony walked over and opened the box, handing me a slice of pizza that I happily took. I leaned myself up against the headboard as Tony did the same. I happily started eating the pizza and then turned to look at Tony.

He was looking at me with a very serious face. I could tell we were about to talk about everything we could talk about. I knew at some point I'd probably cry. Luckily, Tony had already thought of that. I saw the tissues on his nightstand. He put his left arm around me and pulled me in, exhaling relief like he had earlier. "I keep expecting myself to wake up back in that cave and you to be gone again."

"I know how you feel. I'd wake up every morning hoping it was the day before your trip and that you were back here. I was so happy when I found you."

Tony leaned back from me, but still kept his arm around me. "Obi told me you were the one to find me. Apparently, Rhodey had told me on the plane, but I stopped listening to anything anyone was saying as soon as I was one the plane back here." He leaned his head back onto the headboard. "I kept thinking I was coming home, but I would be coming home to nothing but an empty house. For three months, all I kept thinking about was if I got out of there, how my life would be so much worse without you in it. Sometimes, it made me want to quit, but Yinsen helped me push through."

"What made you think I was dead?"

Tony sighed. Even though he trusted me with his life, he tried to keep his emotions in check around me. I was susceptible to other people's emotions and I knew if he were to get upset, I'd start bawling my eyes out. "I heard you scream. Even over my own screams, I heard you scream plain as day. I saw them hit you and drag you away while Yinsen still worked on me. When I came to, I asked where you were and they told Yinsen they'd taken care of you. I assumed you were gone for good."

I leaned into him. "I'm guessing they thought the same thing. They drove me out into the middle of the desert and just threw me out. I walked for a day and a half before I found a little village. I searched for two months before I stopped. I just went through a phase where I gave up. Then that last week…I found you. I saw your face on that screen and I just felt like everything was okay again."

"Did you not eat while I was gone?" He asked, looking down at me. "I didn't want to say anything earlier, but you've lost a lot of weight."

I looked down and I knew he was right. I hadn't eaten well while he was gone. I had given up a lot of things while he was gone. I didn't eat unless someone reminded me, I lost a lot of sleep, and I hadn't really talked to anyone during the three months Tony was gone. I planned on gaining the weight back. I was never a fan of the skinny as a toothpick trend. I was never unhealthy, I just happened to be blessed with curves, and right now, they were not very accentuated at all. "I know. I didn't really eat a lot while you were gone unless Pepper or Happy or even the mailman reminded me. It's not good at all."

"You're right. It's not. You should gain it back. You look better with curves," Tony said, nonchalantly. I chuckled and shook my head, taking the last bite of my pizza slice. I was so happy to have my best friend back. "What you don't agree with me?"

I chuckled again, putting the crust from my pizza in the box. "No. I agree. Don't worry. I plan to gain it back as soon as I can." I paused, thinking back to earlier parts of the conversation. "You keep mentioning Yinsen. Who was he?"

"He was another man they had captive with me. He saved my life, more than once. He helped me build the armor that got me out of there. He was a good man who didn't deserve to die."

I leaned into Tony and we sat there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the fact that the only thing we each had in this world was alive and we didn't have to worry anymore. I breathed in his scent, happy in the fact that it wasn't just his sheet anymore. Tony was physically here and I could say I had no worries in the world.

"Tony. I'm really glad you're alive," I said, breaking our comfortable silence.

Tony squeezed my arm. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're alive."

We continued to talk like no time had passed whatsoever, and laughed just like we always did. We finished off the pizza as we talked and decided to turn on the TV, even if neither of us had really watched anything in the past three months. Eventually, we quieted down and I felt myself drifting into sleep. I tried to stay awake, but my eyelids wouldn't stay open. I could feel movement and then I was being turned. I heard Tony mumble something about the lights. A minute later, I felt Tony's arms engulf me as I let my first serene sleep in three months take me over.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I slowly started to see her eyes droop and I knew she'd be out in seconds. When I was sure I wouldn't wake her, I moved the pizza box off the bed and moved her upper body off the headboard. I had JARVIS turn off the lights, as I was ready to get some sleep myself. I rolled onto my back for a few seconds, before looking over at Jess. I wasn't ready to let go of her. I rolled toward her and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her into me. It disturbed me how small her waist was compared to just three months ago. I was happy when she told me she'd gain the weight back. She needed to. Skinny wasn't Jess's style. I laid my head behind hers and breathed in the scent. I had missed that smell. Once I was sure of the fact that I wasn't dreaming, I decided to slip into a peaceful sleep. It's crazy how being in a cave for three months and thinking she was dead could make me realize what was in front of me the whole time: Jessica Willows was quite possibly the love of my life, though, I'd probably never admit it to her.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I'm really sorry that it's a few days late, but I really hope it was worth the wait. I think this has probably been my favorite chapter so far! I'm looking forward to the rest of this story. I'm not going to make any update promises right now, but I will say that I SHOULD have free time this week end.


	4. Suit Up

**Thank you to everyone that has favorited this story or put it on alert. And a special thanks to Mushroomking98, caleb's babe, aandm20, BaDWolF89, Lilly The Jade Fury, Inez2002, randi101, An Echo In Time, Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967, Xxnikkigirl123xX, BrittWitt16, killergreymon, Artemis Sherwood, babydake93, mrs. Sora-sparrow, and Carlypso for your reviews. I've never had so many reviews! I'm jumping with glee! If I forgot anyone, I apologize. We'll be testing out the Iron Man suit today! Enjoy :)**

**Typical Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and all those people at Marvel own the rights to Tony and the gang. I just own my OC.**

**Chapter 4: Suit Up**

I woke up while it was still dark outside, or the windows were just still dimmed. I wasn't quite sure. I tried to roll over and look at the clock when I realized there was an arm around my waist and it tightened a bit. I panicked for a minute before remembering I was in Tony's bed, with Tony's arm protectively covering me. I tried to roll over again, but the arm tightened around me and I heard Tony mumble for me to go back to sleep. I smiled before closing my eyes and drifting back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, there was no arm around me. There was no heat up against my back. I rolled onto my back and looked over at the clock, it telling me that it was just after ten in the morning. My eyes caught something sitting on the pillow next to me. It was a piece of paper. Tony had sloppily scrawled that he hadn't wanted to wake me, he would be back later, that he was going to talk to Rhodey, and that he and I had something to work on later. It was his first day back and he already wanted to start on a project. I couldn't say I was surprised. Tony spent more time in his garage workshop than he did anywhere else.

I sat up in bed and let out a breath. I could happily go through the day without searching for Tony. I _knew_ he'd be home later and I _knew_ he wasn't in any danger. It was a relief not having to get up and search the Middle East for seventeen or eighteen hours. I climbed out of the bed and decided I'd cook some breakfast. I made my way to the kitchen and started to prepare a nice, big omelet. I'd have to gain this weight back somehow. I didn't like being this small. My clothes were basically falling off of me. I waited patiently as the omelet cooked, flipping it when need be, and then sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen and ate to my heart's content.

Once I was finished with breakfast, I headed to my room for a shower. I didn't know how long he would be with Rhodey, and I couldn't have him think I was being a vegetable all day. As I was cleaning myself off, I began to wonder what Tony would want to work on. I knew after what happened at the press conference and what we had talked about, he wouldn't want to build any weaponry for the government. Maybe he just wanted to start a random project so we could spend some time together while he was lying low. I decided to quit thinking about it and shut the shower off. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around myself. I grabbed a smaller one to dry my hair as I walked. I left the bathroom and turned to my closet, not noticing Tony lying on my bed.

"You'll run my water bill up with showers like that," Tony said. "I've been out here for forty-five minutes."

I jumped and screamed, immediately trying to cover myself, until I realized it was Tony. I sighed in relief and turned back to my closet. "Tony, don't scare me like that! And you're a billionaire, Tony. I highly doubt I'll shower you out of house and home."

He chuckled as he jumped off the bed and walked over to me. He laid his chin on my shoulder as we both scanned my closet. "Are you ready for our project?"

I glanced over at him and then back to the closet. "Is this a 'just-for-fun-so-we-can-hang-out-project' or a 'new-Stark-Industries-project?' I've been wondering."

He shrugged. "You could put it in the former, but take out the 'for fun' part. This is serious business."

I turned around as he removed his head from my shoulder. "What are you planning, Tony?"

He had a very serious look on his face. "It's something big, Jess." I had never seen him so serious about anything. "I'm going to grab a quick bite from the kitchen. I'll meet you in the shop." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before leaving the room.

I turned back to my closet and grabbed some athletic shorts and one of Tony's old t-shirts. Not many of my clothes fit me anymore, so this would have to do. It wasn't unlike what I'd normally wear in the shop anyway. I threw them on over my underwear and made my way to the stairs that went to the workshop. Tony was cleaning off his desk again as I entered my code to let in and could now hear Tony talking to his machines.

"Did I not just clean this desk off? How did you manage to make a mess of it already?" He said to the mechanical arm. It made a low sound like it was sad.

I chuckled at the sight. I always found it hilarious when he talked to his machines like that. Tony turned to me and smiled. "Are you done bullying your gadgets?"

He let out an exasperated sigh for effect. "I guess I am. Are you ready to start?" I nodded. He took a seat at his desk and ran a hand over his keyboard, bringing it to life. "JARVIS, you up?"

His British accent came through the speakers. "For you, sir, always." He paused for a second. "And good afternoon, Miss Willows."

"Good afternoon, JARVIS," I replied. He was definitely my favorite of Tony's inventions. I leaned onto the desk next to Tony. "So what are we doing?"

He began to pull some files up on his computer. They were files I'd never seen before. As they began to come up, one in particular caught my eye. It looked like a giant suit of armor. He looked up at me. "This is what we're doing." He turned back to the computer screens, grabbing his cool clicker pen. "I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark Two." He clicked on the suit of armor diagram and began to drag it to his hologram table.

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?" JARVIS asked. I assumed we wouldn't be.

Tony stood up and we both walked over to the hologram table with the suit of armor now displayed on it. "Aside from Jess, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"

I looked up at Tony. "Don't know who to trust?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off of the hologram. "I feel like something big is happening, I'm just not sure what."

JARVIS interrupted us. "Working on a secret project, are we, sir?"

He flipped the helmet of the hologram up and began to remove unnecessary things from the blueprint. "I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands." He turned it around and removed the thrusters from the back. "Maybe in mine it can actually do some good."

It finally hit me. "Tony, is this how you escaped that cave?"

He nodded, his eyes still on the remaining parts of the blueprint, only the necessities remaining. "I powered it with the arc reactor. It just needs some improvements." I stopped Tony from touching the hologram, and that got his attention, his eyes now on me. "What?"

"If I'm going to help you, I want you to be completely honest with me. What are your plans for this thing? Because if this is something that's going to get you killed, I want no part in it."

He stared at me for a few moments. "I honestly haven't thought it all the way through."

I sighed before turning back to the hologram and removing the inefficient thrusters in the feet of the armor. "Then let's get to work."

We decided we'd work from the bottom up, so we started with the segment of the armor that would go from the feet to the top of the calves. Tony wanted me to make sure it was compact, but wouldn't squeeze him too much, and once I was done with the design, he started working on how to fit the propulsion system into it. Once we were finished, we took a step back from the hologram table and looked at our design. We both smiled at it and began to piece it together into a tangible thing. We gathered what supplies we would need from around the workshop and then took our seats on either side of this work desk. I worked on putting the outer shell together, while Tony and the mechanical arm, Dummy, as he called it, worked on the wiring. I was quickly done with the frame that would hold it all in place, and they began tedious soldering the contraption together. As they were working on it, I began working on the frame of the other leg. I was quickly done with that one as well.

"Jess, work on getting some hand controls set up."

My eyes widened. "You're not going to run diagnostics on them first?"

He smirked without looking up from the boot. "Well what would be the fun in that?" I stood there, still uncertain. "Well chop, chop. I want to get this done before sunset, sweet cheeks." I stood there, one hand now on my hip. He looked up after he realized what he'd said. "I mean, dear best friend, won't you please do me the biggest favor of setting up some hand controllers so I may test our fine invention?"

I smiled. "That's better." I walked over to another desk after getting what few supplies it would take to build a couple of handheld controllers. I just needed a wire that would connect them to the arc reactor, which would then connect to the thrusters in the boots. I walked over to Tony's table and grabbed a couple of long black cables with just the right wiring I would need.

"Hey! I might have needed those," Tony protested.

I just sent him a smile and went back to my table. I connected the wires to the controllers and then found a belt that I would use to connect the wires to the arc reactor. Once Tony was done, I called him over to the table so I could begin fastening the belt on him and around the arc reactor. We got it on without difficulty and the wires connected easily. I handed him the controllers and then saw that the cables were loose. My eyes landed on some electrical tape, and I taped the wires to upper arms.

"Really? Tape?"

I smiled at him. "Tape."

We walked over to his work station and, after some hard effort, got his feet and legs into the boots. I then connected the other cables to the boots so the hand controllers could operate them. Once I was done, I took a step back, and Tony and I looked down at our work. We smiled at each other. Step one was complete.

Tony got a gleam in his eye. "This will be awesome. Jess, get a camera set up."

I begrudgingly got things set up and gave Dummy a fire extinguisher. "You're to douse him if he catches fire. Got it?" It responded with a high pitch noise, which I hoped was good. I stepped back as Tony made his way over. I switched on the camera.

Tony started toward the center of where the camera was pointed. "Okay, let's do this right."

"Doing it right would be running diagnostics, Tony," I tried reasoning.

"This will be fine. Start mark, half a meter, and back to center." He let out an excited breath and turned to Dummy. "Dummy, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety."

I rolled my eyes. "He knows, Tony."

He turned back to me. "Quit being grumpy. This will be fine." He looked at the camera. "You, roll it."

"It's rolling, Tony."

He ignored me as he flicked a switch on his belt. "Okay. Activate hand controls." He began to prepare himself. "We're gonna start off nice an easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift."

"I still don't think that will be enough."

Tony looked over at me. "Well, should I up it?"

I held my hands up. "You're testing it. You do what you want. Just don't be disappointed if all it does is send out a few sparks."

"We'll stay at 10%." He steadied himself again. "In three, two, one."

Suddenly, Tony was sent flying up and backwards. He hit the wall with a gigantic force and fell behind a couple of his tool chests. I let out a shriek as Dummy began to spray him and I ran over to Tony. He was groaning but laughing at the same time, so I counted that as a good sign.

"Dummy, would you stop!" The machine immediately stopped. I got down next to Tony and helped him into a sitting position. "Oh my… You're not hurt are you?" I began examining everything I could.

He continued chuckling at me. "Just a few sparks?"

"Shut up, Tony. Are you okay?"

He started to stand up, and I helped him. "Oh, just peachy. That was fun." He dusted himself off. "But don't try that."

I looked at his face to see blood trickling down from his hairline. "Tony, you're bleeding." I pulled him over to a stool as fast as the heavy boots would allow him to move. "Sit." I left him there as I quickly made my way over to the cabinet with the first aid kit. I grabbed it and was back to Tony in a flash. I dug through, trying to find what I would need.

"Would you quit making a fuss? It's just a little blood."

I ignored his protests and continued digging until I found a cloth and an antiseptic wipe. As soon as I touched the wound, he winced. "Baby." I wiped it free of the blood and proceeded to wipe the wound with the antiseptic wipe. Tony made a hissing noise, and I had to laugh. I realized how close I was to Tony now and how his eyes had yet to leave my face. I directed my attention back to the wound, dabbing at it even though it was now fine. Tony grabbed my wrist and brought my hand away from the wound. I looked at him again.

He cleared his throat. "You know, all that time in Afghanistan got me thinking. I can't keep-"

I cut him off. For some reason, I didn't want this to turn away from the project. "A flight stabilizer."

He tried not to look hurt from me stopping him, but his eyes betrayed him. "That's exactly what I was thinking." He got off the stool and started to get out of the boots. "First, you need to eat. I don't need you getting any skinnier."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mom." Once he got the boots off, I grabbed his hand and started walking to the door. "If I'm eating, you're eating too. We'll make some sandwiches and come back down."

He smiled at me, knowing I was right that he needed a break as well. We'd been working for quite some time. The sun had set, risen, and set again by the time we were done with the two boots.

It took us days to even perfect the design for the flight stabilizers. Every time we'd think we were finished, we'd test them find something wrong with the design. Half the time, we would just trash the entire thing and start over. We had also decided we'd stock the fridge in the workplace so we wouldn't have to keep going upstairs to get food. Tony made sure I ate when I was supposed to and ordered me to take naps when he'd catch me dozing off, but he would just power through, drinking unhealthy amounts of coffee. I'd occasionally leave the shop to go shower and use the bathroom, because I couldn't stand how gross my hair felt after not washing it for a couple of days. I was pretty sure I was repulsing Tony as well.

On our eighth day working on the design for the flight stabilizer, we finally felt like we had it right. Tony used his clicker pen to throw the pieces of the design together on the hologram table and once it was together, he stuck his arm inside and gave it a look. I smiled at how well it looked. It was time to put it together.

I worked on the bottom of the frame first and then attached the part that would go over the top, while Tony worked on the wiring and actual stabilizer that would fit on his palm. Pepper kept trying to buzz us to come up, but Tony told me to just ignore it. I felt bad for ignoring her like that, but we did have a lot of work to get done. I set up the frame so he could work with it while his arm sat in it. I finished the second frame on a second desk. I was taking a coffee break while Tony strapped himself into the first one I'd given him. I looked over and saw Pepper coming down the stairs with a box wrapped in brown paper and a coffee mug on top, all balanced on her clipboard. Tony was just getting the stabilizer strapped on when she opened the door.

I walked over to her and questioned her about the box. "Is that it?" She nodded before walking over to Tony and setting the stuff down.

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" She asked.

He was distracted by the stabilizer. "Yeah, everything's… What?" I let out a giggle.

"Obadiah's upstairs."

"Great! Great. I'll be right up."

I looked at her confused. "Why is he here?"

My question went unanswered. "What would you like me to tell him?"

Tony lifted his right arm, which was now encased by the stabilizer, with his left. He used his left arm to keep it steady before letting go. "You're testing it now?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

He looked between us and then back to Tony. "I thought you said you were done making weapons."

"It's not a weapon."

"She's right. This is a flight stabilizer." He pushed the button that would send a burst to it. "It's completely harmless."

Both Pepper and I covered our ears as Tony was sent flying back. I immediately went over to help him up. "I didn't expect that."

Once he was off the floor, I turned to Pepper. "After I get him out of this, we'll be right up."

She nodded at me, still shocked by what had just happened and turned to leave. She quickly got to the door and ascended the stairs, sneaking looks back at us.

"Good job, Tony," I laughed.

He laughed too. "I _really_ didn't expect that."

I sat his arm back in the props and helped him take the stabilizer off. "We'll find a way to tone the power down." The frame opened and Tony quickly removed his arm, shaking the shock out of it. I removed the belt that fed the power to it, and we both made our way up the stairs. When we got to the top, we saw that Obadiah was playing the piano.

"How'd it go?" Tony immediately asked.

I looked up. "How'd what go?"

Tony spotted a box of pizza on the table and walked over to it. "It went that bad, huh?"

I was still slightly confused. "What went bad?" Tony handed me a slice of pizza, which I accepted, and I decided to drop my questions.

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad."

"Sure doesn't," he replied, taking a seat on the couch, happily taking a slice of pizza for himself. I sat down next to him and began to eat on my slice.

"It would have gone better if you were there," Obadiah called from the piano.

Tony protested as he took a bite. "You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low, and you take care of all the…"

Obadiah cut him off. "Hey, come on. In public. The press." He made his way over to us. His face was serious. "This was a board of directors meeting."

Tony looked up from his slice. "This was a board of directors meeting?" I was shocked as well.

Obadiah took a seat. He sighed. "The board is claiming you have posttraumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."

Tony was as confused as I was. "A what?" We asked at the same time.

"They want to lock you out, Tony."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Why, because the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."

Pepper spoke up. "Fifty-six and a half."

Tony turned to her. "It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

Obadiah sighed. "Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction-"

"And what exactly is wrong with his new direction?" I asked.

Obadiah looked at me, annoyed. "That you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me," he quickly caught himself, "for the company." We all looked at him as he tried to explain himself. I was on his side, though. "I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that…" Pepper and Obadiah continued to wait for him to finish. He looked at me. "This is great." He stood up, grabbed the pizza box with one hand and my wrist with the other. "Come on. We'll be in the shop."

Obadiah quickly stood up and grabbed Tony's shoulder. "Tony, I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them." He pointed at Tony's chest. "Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs." Tony protested. "It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

Tony was not letting Obadiah win this one. "No. Absolutely not. This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it." Tony went to move again.

Obadiah grabbed the pizza box. "All right, well this stays with me, then." He opened the box for us though. "Go on, here, you guys can have a piece."

Tony grabbed one and waited for me. "I'm taking two," I said, grabbing two slices, making Obadiah laugh. "Growing girls gotta eat." Tony pulled me with him toward the stairs.

"You mind if I come down there and see what you two are doing?" Obadiah called.

"Good night, Obie," we both called back.

When we got back down to the workshop, we finished off our pizza. Tony walked back over to the table with the stabilizer and started working on it again. We'd been down here in the shop for ten days and I knew Tony would want to do a full test soon. I decided it was time we leave. I walked over to him and took his screwdriver out of his hand.

"What?"

"You can work more on this tomorrow, but I haven't had a real sleep in almost two weeks. I thought since you were back I would actually sleep better." He was about to protest. "We can run a full test in the morning, but you need rest as much as I do." I grabbed his arm and started pulling him toward the door. "Come on. Think of that nice comfortable mattress upstairs." He sighed and finally gave in.

I pulled him up the stairs with ease and let go once we were at the top. We both started down the hallway and I was about to walk past his room, when I felt Tony's hand grab my wrist. I turned back, confused as to why he stopped me.

"You're not gonna sleep in here tonight?" He asked, looking upset.

I smiled at him. I hadn't intended on sleeping in his bed, but if that's what he wanted, I wouldn't object. "I'm just going to go change."

He shook his head and scooped me up. I laughed at his antics. "What you're wearing is fine. Time to sleep." He walked us into his room and threw me onto the bed. He walked over to his dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out what he'd be wearing for the night. He started to change, and I got under the blankets and curled myself up in them. A few seconds later, I felt the other side of the bed dip down and Tony crawled onto the bed. He slowly slid his arm around my waist and pulled me toward him a bit. I rolled over in his arms to look at him.

"This is fine, right?" He asked, unsure.

I nodded. "Why would you ask?"

He pulled me a bit closer. "I was just checking. It makes me feel better if we sleep like this. I feel like I can protect you."

"I don't always need protecting, Tony," I whispered as I started to fall asleep.

"I know, but I'm gonna do it anyway," he whispered back.

The last things I felt before sleep took me were my best friend's lips against my forehead and a tingling sensation making its way through my body.

I was woken by Tony nudging me. I opened my eyes to see him out of bed and ready to get downstairs. He held out a muffin for me, which I took and told me when I was ready, he'd be downstairs, ready to test the thrusters and flight stabilizers. I nodded and he was out of the room.

I made my way down to my room, placed the muffin on my bedside table and showered quickly. I dressed just as quickly as I'd showered and left my hair damp. I grabbed the muffin and quickly made my way down to the workshop. I was just as ready to see what this would do. When I got down and opened the door, I saw Tony was already strapped into the boots and the stabilizers.

"Ready to go, I see," I said as I took a bite of the muffin.

"More than ready. Here we go." He took a deep breath. "Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety." He pointed toward the machine. "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."

I scoffed. "Lack of a better option? What am I?"

"First aid," he replied without missing a beat. "All right, nice and easy. Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity." He readied himself for what might happen. "And three, two, one." The thrusters and stabilizers came to life, sparking. Tony was actually in the air, hovering. He hovered for a few seconds before letting himself go back to the ground. He turned to Dummy who was pointing the extinguisher at him. "Please don't follow me around with it, either, because I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down! If something happens, then come in."

I laughed as I took another bite of the muffin. "He's just trying to help, Tony."

"Yeah, whatever. That would mean he was being useful." He steadied himself again. "And again, let's bring it up to 2.5. Three, two, one." The devices came alive once again, jolting him up with a little more force. Instead of hovering, he actually started to move around. Tony started to move his arms to try to force his movements. Suddenly, he was over his cars. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be!" He flew over his Audi and I winced. "Not the car, not the car!" He was finally away from them, but he was now over his desks. Papers began flying everywhere. "Jess, are you seeing this?" I couldn't even form words; I was just amazed that my best friend was flying around his workshop. He stopped himself from going further away, and started laughing nervously as he made his way back. "Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine." Once he was back to where he started, he straightened himself out and seemed actually in control. He continued to stay there for a few seconds before dropping back to the ground. He stumbled back a bit, but caught himself. He caught sight of Dummy about to douse him and yelled at him. He looked back at me and I'm sure my face read pure shock. "Yeah, I can fly."

"Tony, you can fly!" I ran up to him and hugged him. "This is amazing!"

It took us the rest of the day and most of the next three days to get all the kinks worked out of the systems, but once we were done, Tony had this bright smile on his face.

"I know that face, Tony Stark. What are you planning?"

He looked over at me. "I had JARVIS and the some of the machines put together the rest of it."

My eyes widened. "You didn't."

He laughed and walked over to a cleared out place in the workshop. Suddenly, mechanical arms started placing metal body plates over what we had made. I could only stand there, shocked as a full on suit was placed around Tony. Once the entire suit was on, he picked up a metal mask off of one of the tables and placed it over his face.

"JARVIS, are you there?" He asked.

"At your service, sir," I heard him reply.

"Engage Heads Up Display. Import all preferences from home interface."

"Will do, sir."

Tony turned to me. "Jess, I want you to help and be my eyes in the sky. I know how you are with satellites and things."

I nodded, still a bit shocked and how amazingly cool Tony's suit looked. "I can do that."

Tony pointed toward his desk with all the computers. "There's a headset over there that connects directly to the suit. The computer screens will show you what I'm seeing, me, and any satellite feed you hack yourself into."

I walked over to the desk and put the headset on quickly. I turned on the computer screens and I could indeed see everything Tony was seeing, as well as his face on one of the monitors. I heard Tony speaking to JARVIS.

"All right. What do you say?"

"I have indeed been uploaded, sir. We're online and ready."

"Can we start the virtual walk-around?"

"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."

"Do a check on control surfaces."

I looked over and pieces of the suit began moving and hissing. I looked back to the computer screens and saw all the data that was being collecting through this process. I could even see JARVIS processing the data that came across the screen. I walked over to Tony and looked him up and down. "Tony, this is, by far, the coolest thing I've ever seen." The pieces of his suit finally stopped moving.

"Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics," JARVIS informed.

"Yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."

"Tony, you can't possibly be thinking about testing this _entire_ suit out right now, right? There are a million things that could go wrong."

"Sir, she's right. There are still terabytes calculations needed before an actual flight is attempted," JARVIS stated, agreeing with me.

"Guys! Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk," Tony reasoned.

"You're an idiot," I replied.

Tony ignored me. "Ready? In three, two, one." His suit came to life and was in the air. He began to lean forward, increased the thrust capacity and made his way out of the outside opening to the workshop.

I immediately ran to the screens and heard Tony yelling and whooping through the headset. "Tony, you'd better be careful."

"Always am, Jess," he replied. "Handles like a dream."

He began flying over the city and he came upon a carnival. The amount of data he was getting off of every single thing was astounding. He flew away from it and all I saw was black. "Tony, my screen went black."

"That's because it's night," he replied, matter-of-factly. "All right, let's see what this thing can do. What's SR-71's record?"

The moon came into view on the screen. "Well, 85,000 feet is the record for fixed wing flight, but that's not such-"

"Records are made to be broken!" He yelled and the speed of his suit increased.

"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring," JARVIS informed.

He was right. I could see it frosting over the viewing field of his suit. "Tony, you're icing over. Come back down."

"Keep going! Higher!"

"Tony!" I yelled into the headset. "Lower your altitude!" Suddenly, the viewing field screen and the screen displaying Tony's face were now blank. "Tony! Answer me!" I was having a miniature panic attack. "Tony…" He'd already gone and killed himself. "JARVIS, what's going on?"

"Mr. Stark's suit is offline. I'm not able to communicate with him."

"Come on, Tony!" I stared at the screens intently. If he died because of something I helped build, I'd bring him back to life just to kill him again. I knew I couldn't handle that. Something was happening with us, and I wasn't sure what. I was so happy to find out he was alive, I hadn't had time to process my feelings.

Tony and I had always been close, but with his womanizing ways, I'd never expected us to be more than friends. But Tony and I were really all each other had. Those three months without him were just a test of what could actually happen. At least then, there was a chance he was alive. If he were to really die and me have no chance of getting him back, I'd fall apart. That didn't mean I had feelings for him. Sure, Tony was extremely attractive and there was the sensitive side I got to see that no one else did. But… _Oh, my goodness…_ I couldn't believe I was realizing this now._ Tony, please, don't be dead._

Unexpectedly, the two monitors came back to life, and I was looking at the pavement of a street quickly passing by, before I saw ocean and the house in the distance. I could now hear Tony yelling with excitement in my ear. "Anthony Edward Stark, don't _ever_ do that again!"

He laughed. "Again with the middle name."

"You deserved it." I watched the screen as the roof of the house came into view. I was happy he got back safely. He hovered above the roof for a few moments before I heard two awful words.

"Kill power." Idiot.

Tony quickly came crashing through the roof. I heard the piano break apart above us and before I knew it, he had landed on his 1967 Shelby Cobra. I quickly flung the headset off and ran to him. Before I got there, Dummy was already dousing him with the fire extinguisher.

"Dummy that's enough." I helped Tony slide off the car and into a sitting position. I pushed his shoulder hard. "You're a complete idiot!" I took the mask off and looked at him. In that moment, all I wanted was to kiss him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfect." I helped him stand up and walk over to where the suit had been put on and watched as they painfully took the suit apart. I could hear Tony groaning as they took the suit off of him. Once he was out, I punched him in the arm. He winced and glared at me. "What was that for?"

I hugged him tightly. He hesitantly put his arms around me. "Don't scare me like that again, Tony Stark. I've had enough death scares from you, and I don't need anymore." I felt some tears escape my eyes. "I just couldn't take that, Tony."

He pulled my face away from his chest and wiped the tears off my face. "I promise to _try_ to not scare you anymore." I let a small chuckle out. "Why don't you get to bed? I'm gonna put some ice on my head, and then I'll be up."

"Okay." I started toward the door. "Don't stay down here too long." I passed by the table had my unopened package for Tony on it. I looked at the cup sitting on top of it. "You should probably throw this coffee out."

"I will before I come up," he replied from the fridge.

I looked around and found a sticky note pad on his desk. I pulled one off the top and scrawled 'From Jess' across it. I placed it on top of the box, replacing the old coffee on top of it and made my way up the stairs. I took a quick shower to wash the day off me and then climbed into Tony's bed once I was dried and clothed. I pretended to be asleep until Tony came in, changed clothes and crawled in next to me, pulling me to him once again.

"You can go to sleep now," he whispered to me.

I smiled to myself and turned to snuggle into him. I hated that I was now developing feelings for my best friend. I could never tell him. He was not the monogamous type, and I knew that. Plus, I couldn't risk ruining our friendship. I decided to let my thoughts go for tonight and drift into a nice, deep sleep.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

I had a blistering headache from the crash, and I tried to hide it from Jess. I didn't need her thinking this was too dangerous for me to do. The daunting task of getting this suit off wasn't helping the headache one bit. Once I was fully out of the suit, Jess came up and punched my arm. It was already getting sore from the crash.

I sent her a glare. "What was that for?"

She was suddenly hugging me and I was a bit confused. It took me a minute to put my arms around her. "Don't scare me like that again, Tony Stark. I've had enough death scares from you, and I don't need anymore." I suddenly felt awful for scaring her this way. I felt her tears soak through my shirt, and if possible, I felt even worse. "I just couldn't take that, Tony."

I pulled her face away from my chest, staring at her beautiful face as I wiped the tears away. As much as I hated to see her cry, she was a cute crier. "I promise to _try_ to not scare you anymore." She chuckled at my attempt to joke. Oh, how I loved that chuckle. "Why don't you get to bed? I'm gonna put some ice on my head, and then I'll be up."

I started to make my way over to the freezer to get some ice. It felt like my head was splitting in two. "Don't stay down here too long." I heard her pause. "You should probably throw this coffee out."

I was still collecting ice for the headache. "I will before I come up."

It was a few moments before I heard her exit. I wondered over to the table with the coffee cup on it, now holding the ice pack on my head. I knocked my creeper out of the way, only to have it roll back in front of me. I rolled my eyes. Even _that_ couldn't go right. I picked up the coffee cup and started to walk away when I noticed a note on top of the box that Pepper had brought down when Obie was here. It read, 'From Jess.' I put the cup and the ice pack down, removed the note and carefully ripped the paper away. I was shocked to see my original arc reactor propped up in a glass display case. It had an inscription around the outside. 'PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART.' I couldn't help but grin a little at what Jess had done. Every little thing she did made me feel a little stronger for her, and I couldn't believe I'd been so ignorant this whole time. I couldn't tell her though. She'd move out, and I'd only see her in meetings. That is, if she didn't quit first.

I decided to leave those thoughts down here, and made my way up the stairs. When I entered my room, Jess's back was to the door. I could tell she wasn't asleep. Her breathing wasn't even enough. I changed into nightwear. Normally, I didn't sleep with much on, but I was sure that Jess would rather I keep _some_ clothing boundaries between us. I climbed into bed and wrapped my arms around her waist. I was so happy that over the past two and a half weeks, she'd gained enough of her weight back to not be unhealthily skinny. Her curves were starting to return and I was glad. She was a beautiful woman.

I felt her relax against me. I _knew_ she hadn't been asleep. "You can go to sleep now," I whispered into her ear. She immediately rolled over and got comfortable against me. I wish I wasn't feeling this way. I shouldn't have been feeling this way. I was Tony Stark. I was a playboy. I didn't get caught up in feelings for someone. But this someone was Jessica Willows, my eternal best friend. She'd be in my life forever anyway. Maybe I could settle down, maybe.

**IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN OC IRONMAN**

Freshman year of college is over! :) I'm so happy with how well received this story has become. 46 story favorites, 87 story alerts and 26 reviews in 3 chapters :) You guys rock! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I apologize for any spelling errors. I tried to go through and edit them. I pushed through the night to get it written. Enjoy!


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